seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Deuteronomy 14:22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. 27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
As I see it....Before they got to the Promised Land, they lived together.... in the same area as the Temple. When they got to the Promised Land, there would be one Temple at a place where God placed it... and they would have to travel. They couldn't just hang out at the Temple anymore [unless they were the Levites] and even the Levites had to change the way they did things because the Temple was so far away.
This is the commentary from the easy English site.
Moses told the Israelites to bring a 10th of the harvest from their land and to give it to God. That reminded them that everything came from God. They must go to the place that God chose. They must go to thank him. They ate their tithe at the place that God had chosen. They did that so that they would not eat it at a place for foreign gods. Some people lived too far from the place to bring their tithe. So they would sell it and they would bring the money. Then they would buy food to eat there. (Some bad people used that as a way to get money unfairly from other people. That led to the evil actions for which Jesus forced the traders from the temple in John 2:13-17. People who bought animals had to pay more than the animals were worth.) The person and his family would be happy as they ate the meal. They also shared it with the Levites who had nothing to give. Every three years, the people stored the tithe in the local town. Then they gave it to the Levites and to the poor people.
Let me put a map up so we can really appreciate how spread out the Promised Land really was.
The trip to the Temple was a tad bit further than the trip we currently consider when choosing a local church. On top of that, it was dangerous. They weren't tucked securely in their car... they were walking or riding in an open wagon. Let's face it....if we were being honest with each other..... we might consider not going to Temple at all if we lived back then... right? Some of us couldn't even save up the Tithe for three years... right?
